Modi speaks to Trump .... ::::: "Had a great conversation with my friend, President Donald Trump" :::: "strong turnout a sign of the health of our republic"

((( Under Trump, the global agenda will alter, whether we like it or not. ))))

ZZZ

 "Had a great conversation with my friend, President Donald Trump congratulating him on his spectacular victory. 

Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors," 

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. 

When Trump sought 'Diwali blessings' 

Notably, posting on social media, the Indian PM also says he is looking forward to working closely with Trump to strengthen relations in areas included technology, defence, energy and space.  

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Donald Trump on the phone a little earlier.

In a "warm and cordial" conversation, Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his election victory, and the two agreed to work together for Israel's security, and also discussed the "Iranian threat", the statement adds.

Netanyahu earlier called Trump's victory "history’s greatest comeback" in a message signed "Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu".  

Former Republican President George W Bush has congratulated Trump and Vance on their win.

In a post on X, Bush writes: "The strong turnout in this election is a sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions. "We join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of our new leaders at all levels of government." He also thanks Biden and Harris for "their service to our country".

Bush never publicly backed a candidate during this election, but his daughter Barbara endorsed Kamala Harris in October - as did Dick Cheney, who served as his vice-president.

The shocking US election result will create a new world order – and launch a fresh wave of Trump wannabes, writes Martin Kettle in

'The Guardian'

Trump 2.0 seems certain to put one of the final nails in the coffin of the post-1945 Pax Americana. 

In reality, that old normality has been disintegrating since at least the Vietnam conflict. George W Bush’s “war on terror” caused more problems than it solved. Barack Obama and Joe Biden were each reluctant to wield America’s big stick, most recently and tragically in the Middle East. Now, though, there is no hiding from the realities.

Under Trump, the global agenda will alter, whether we like it or not.  

"Liberal democracies everywhere, Britain included, will also come under fresh siege from their own Trump imitators, powered by truth-spurning social media," he notes.

Refer 'The Guardian' Link

"Other democracies, including Britain, need to understand what is at stake. The challenges facing the international order are only the start of it. Challenges on the home front are just as real. 

"Democracies need to respond, far more soberly and determinedly than many have yet done, to the digital-era power of Trump’s nationalist, protectionist and resentment-fuelled messages. 

"If we want to avoid being overwhelmed by similar forces, leaving us even more vulnerable to hostile autocracies such as Russia, we need to be proactive, not passive, about them."

Assam got Rs 2 Lakh Crore through 5 Peace pacts :::: Pragmatic Naga polity : Can Prosperity lead to a lasting Peace ?

Money-Treadmill - Assam got Rs 2 lakh Cr. through 5 Peace pacts

Kohima/Wokha 

“The sky was covered in smoke and on distant roofs one could see people looking upwards. Were they trying to catch sight of the new moon or were they catching the fire”?  

-  Urdu poet Saadat Hasan Manto 

It may be the right time today that real protagonists of the peace process should play real game-changers.

They have to understand the power of the economic agenda. Globally that is an accepted trend.

They also need to realise that development and economic agenda has overtaken political agenda in public mind space to a large extent. 

The Nagas have been known to the outside world mostly because of their history of guns and strife. 

At the fag end of 2024, as the Nagaland assembly crosses the six-decade milestone, the perception that 'Guns have a say' has to be replaced by new tools - Education, Technology and Science.

'Brand ambassador' Namo admiring Medziphema Pineapple Juice !!

The menaces like Extortion linked to Corruption, white collared jobs and misgovernance are related to each other and hence these have to be fought and erased.  

'Nagaland Page' link

As a nation, India in general and northeast India in particular has all the ingredients for achieving meaningful growth and development.

There is already a large consumer market, an efficient English educated workforce, skilled labour and a rich agro-forest base for achieving immense results.  But why are things not happening as expected? The psychic tug of war among Nagas is a known thing. 

One overwhelming section of Naga people had joined the Naga movement. The issues in debate even those days are still being debated.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has urged the 16th Finance Commission 

to provide increased financial support to tackle the State’s persistent infrastructure and governance challenges, while proposing a grant of Rs 40,386.5 crore.

Will the money come so easily ?

Senior officials and retired officials - police, army and civil, I have interacted with lately suggest the men in camouflage today also believe that instead of feeling down about the challenges; why not reach out hands in friendship. 

This is what forces like Assam Rifles are trying to do with multiple out of box innovative steps and  welfare measures. The serving officials cite several examples from Manipur and Nagaland.

We may not agree with everything they say, but there are merits in it.

"Our anti insurgency crack teams are doing the primary task of protecting the national boundaries... That is precisely the primary job," says the source.

"But the same men and women and officers are doing the nation building works completely in tune with elected Govts both at the state level and in the centre," it adds.

This is about the forces running coaching centres in coordination with SBI or other agencies. 

In Manipur, they constructed and repaired riot-damaged water pipe connections during the turbulent days of 2023.

Of course, but that does not mean - all problems of the past are over. There is now a need for converting subsistence farming into profitable businesses that promote financial independence. 

In Nov 2022, the Assam Rifles began a training program in mushroom farming at Jalukie, Peren in partnership with the State Bank of India - Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI). Numerous households now make a living from growing mushrooms, which lessens reliance on conventional farming. 

Another key thing has happened in hand holding. Many participants have teamed up to form cooperatives, which has also increased productivity and given them more negotiating leverage. 

During my recent visit to Nagaland, I interacted with a native woman from the Medziphema locality about her livelihood support. She surprised me. 

"The pineapple fruit juice from my unit at Medziphema was purchased by PM Narendra Modi at an exhibition in Assam last year," she said.

 (snap above) 

The Mao lady is married to an Angami from the Medziphema locality and she eagerly showed a photograph of Modi buying the pineapple juice made in the Medziphema unit.

The moral of the lesson: -- the skill-development initiatives of the Assam Rifles in Nagaland are a potent illustration of their dedication to promoting peace via prosperity. 

There is another missing point in the debate. It is time to appreciate the fact that the special development packages come with every Accord signed in the North East. 

Zunheboto : Rural beauty !!

Nagas are in the stage of 'negotiations' for the last 27 years and common people have paid the price of 'multiple taxation'. 

But now is probably the time Nagaland should learn from Assam where more than nearly Rs 2 lakh crore worth of developmental projects are being taken up as a result of  five Accords signed in the last five years. It is a case of not only acting as a 'big brother'. It is acting Smartly and here comes the importance of Peace Dividends.

Assam has inked peace pacts with Bodos, Karbis, Adivasis, Dimasas and one section of ULFA.

At Medziphema; locals also spoke about the Naga movement. One social worker (identity kept withheld) retorted -- "The Army is trying to spread Prosperity. This is a new Nagaland; the Assam Rifles officials now know the Naga weakness. But prosperity is also part of a problem. We have so much extortion".

Within 48 hours, I had landed in Wokha town. A few eminent Lotha leaders said -- Nagas may have a very big wishlist but it is time the demands are tailored to suit practical situations.

The Wokha region has been generally known for pragmatic people and the region also produced a few successful business captains in their own right.

Road contractor Daniel Lotha used to say, "I hate supply works. Give me business opportunities where we can keep something for the legacy ... like the roads".

Nagaland roads today would have made Daniel Lotha look for cover. 

"To start with, I think it would not be without good reasons if we say today that we must get an early Solution to the Naga issue," Mhondamo Lotha, president of Lotha Hoho, told this journalist at wokha.

He said - "Top in my wishlist is peace and development. But we also need all factions of Naga underground to come together". He volunteered to pause for a while and said: "You may call it my wishful thinking. But no big things can come without dreams".

ends 

Pen/Paper and 'Gunmen' : Kohima - 2024 

Namo's missive to Trump --- "Heartiest congratulations my friend" :::::: "Let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace" ,

"Heartiest congratulations my friend 

@realDonaldTrump

 on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. 

Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity." -- Narendra Modi tweeted.

Donald Trump elected US president in stunning political resurrection 

The result will sound alarm bells in foreign capitals given Trump’s chaotic leadership style and overtures to authoritarians such as Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. He was branded a threat to democracy and even a fascist by his opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and some of his own former White House officials.

Yet the American electorate proved willing to push such concerns aside and hand the nuclear codes to the property developer turned reality TV star for a second time. - 'The Guardian'  

Trump defeated Harris, a Democrat who had been seeking to make history herself as the first woman, first Black woman and first south Asian American to become president in the US’s 248-year history.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, has congratulated Donald Trump in a post on X accompanied by a photograph of the two of them in the White House during Trump’s first term in office.

“The friendship between Canada and the US is the envy of the world,” Trudeau wrote. “I know President Trump and I will work together to create more opportunity, prosperity, and security for both of our nations.”  

It required 270 to win and become US President, Trump won - 277 as against 224 by Kamala Harris. 

“This is a movement like nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said. 

“This is I believe the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country and now it’s going to reach a new level of importance, because we’re going to help our country heal.

“We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country … I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve, this will truly be the golden age of America.”  

In Congress, Republicans also recaptured the US Senate, but control of the House of Representatives remained unclear on Wednesday morning, with many of the most competitive races still uncalled.

Harris, 60, made reproductive rights and personal freedoms a rallying cry and backed a national law codifying access to safe abortion. Her loss represents a devastating, anxiety-inducing blow to supporters reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s crushing defeat in 2016. She was expected to speak later on Wednesday.

But for Trump, the unlikeliest of comebacks is now complete. Many analysts assumed that his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020 spelled the end of his political career, especially when an angry mob of his supporters – fuelled by his lie that the election was stolen – stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, resulting in his second impeachment.

But while Trump’s grip on the Republican party was briefly shaken, it held firm. 

The thrice-married New Yorker, found liable for sexual abuse, remained an unlikely hero of evangelical Christians and the white working class, and polling suggested that he gained small but significant traction among African American and Latino voters.  

Spewing insults, Trump swatted challengers aside to claim the Republican presidential nomination for a third consecutive time. Just before the party convention in July he survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, an escape that many allies took as a sign from God (another would-be assassin was caught at one of Trump’s Florida golf courses in September) -- says 'The Guardian'. 

 

Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris :::: What Trump said after his win !! :::: Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenksy congratulates Trump :::: "Ready to work" says French Prez

Trump thanked voters: 

"I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president"

"Votes are still being tallied, but Trump does look set to win a majority of votes at this election. 

"America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," he said

Trump praised his running mate, J D Vance who himself said Trump had just pulled off "the greatest political comeback in American history" during the speech

Elon musk is a "star": A section of Trump's speech was dedicated to the tech billionaire, who Trump said was "an amazing guy". 

French President Emmanuel Macron says he's "ready to work together" with Trump for a second time

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenksy congratulates Trump and praises his commitment to "peace through strength" - which he says will "bring a just peace in Ukraine closer". 

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praises her country’s "unshakeable alliance" with the US and says it's a bond that will "strengthen even further" with Trump

Chris Mason, BBC Political editor

says : "This, to put it gently, is the more complicated scenario for the UK government. And complicated, above all, for one reason: Donald Trump’s wild unpredictability.

The government has sought to prepare. But the prep may only count for so much. 

How will UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the north London human rights lawyer, gel with the brash New York billionaire?

They met in New York in September, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has met his running mate JD Vance. Those close to Lammy say he has also been putting in the leg work for months to get to know and to understand Trump and those around him.

Lammy's described Vance as "my friend" and Donald Trump as "often misunderstood".

Quite the outreach towards the man he once called a "tyrant in a toupee".

Privately, there's a recognition in Whitehall that things aren't likely to be smooth - they're more likely to be bumpy, noisy. 

Three critical issues ... Donald Trump would stand for :::: --

The economy: 

Trump has promised to "end inflation and make America affordable again" - he says he'll do this by expanding US energy production and opening areas such as the Arctic wilderness to oil drilling to lower energy costs.

Taxes: 

He's proposed a number of tax cuts worth trillions, including an extension of ones he enacted in 2017, which mostly helped the wealthy. Trump says that he will pay for cuts through higher growth and tariffs on imports.

Immigration: 

Trump campaigned heavily on this issue, promising to seal the US's border by completing construction of the wall he promised to build between the US and Mexico during his last presidency. 

He's also said he'll enact the biggest mass deportation of undocumented migrants in US history.

The extraordinary victory will make the 78-year-old New York real estate magnate only the second former president in US history to win the White House after previously losing re-election.

He also becomes the oldest person ever elected to the presidency.

Trump was first elected in 2016, but lost his re-election bid to Joe Biden in 2020, when the Democrat was 77. Trump then spent weeks attempting to prevent his rival from taking office, culminating in the 6 January 2021 insurrection, which saw his supporters attack the US Capitol after Trump addressed them outside the White House.

In the years that followed, prosecutors at the federal level and in the states of Georgia and New York brought felony charges against him, and earlier this year, he was convicted in Manhattan on 34 counts of business fraud, while the other cases have stalled. He was also found liable in a civil court case of sexual abuse.

Trump is bound by term limits, and cannot seek re-election. The only other president to serve two non-consecutive terms was Democrat Grover Cleveland, who was in office from 1885 to 1889, and again from 1893 to 1897.

US 'Sickular' media defeated and exposed !! Kamala Harris's hagiography was written with "glowing acclaim from the press". But this could not hold ....

(statement on X by

Bill Ackman, CEO Pershing Square, Co-trustee 

"If the election outcome is as I expected, it should cause the large minority of the country who supported Kamala Harris and predicted her victory to begin to question their sources of truth. 

Half the country has believed that @X  is filled with mis- and disinformation, and that they could only therefore rely on The NY Times, MSNBC, CNN and other mainstream media for their news. And they did. 

If, however, you have been active on @X for the last year, you have known the truth days, weeks and often months before the facts appear in the MSM.

The MSM excerpted, clipped and cut to defame @realDonaldTrump

 while claiming that @JoeBiden  was fit as a fiddle. Then when Biden’s polls collapsed, @KamalaHarris was anointed the candidate and her hagiography was written with glowing acclaim from the press. 

But this could not hold as she ducked the media and held fast to the teleprompter. 

Citizen journalists with their phone cameras in hand captured the real Kamala forcing her to defend her record and her plans in more media appearances. It did not go well and the public demanded to learn more so @KamalaHarris had to risk more unscripted media. 

The doom loop was underway with perhaps 60 Minutes as one of the more dramatic examples, even after CBS tried to save her, most glaringly by excerpting one answer to replace a word salad response to another. 

But the citizen journalists on @X quickly caught and outed this fraud and demanded a transcript. 

As many who supported Kamala began to realize that they have been misled, they became open to Trump as an alternative, 

.... but they didn’t want to rely on the media to understand him because they did not want to be misled again. 

They wanted to hear the candidate in his own words and that is where 

@lexfridman

 and 

@joeroganhq

 long form podcasts came to the rescue. When Kamala was offered the same opportunities to explain herself, she rejected them. And the voting public could only draw a negative inference. 

When the story of this election is written, I expect it will be as much about how half of America woke up to the reality that they have been manipulated by the media. This should lead to an abandonment by many of the MSM as their primary source of information. It will push more people to @X, to podcasts and other empirical sources, and it will lead to a more informed public. 

"The other outcome I hope happens is the implosion of the Democratic Party. 

The Party lied to the American people about the cognitive health and fitness of the president. 

It prevented, threatened, litigated and otherwise eliminated the ability of other candidates for the primary to compete, to get on ballots, and to even participate in a debate. 

The Party and the administration used lawfare in an attempt to imprison, bankrupt or otherwise kill off Trump as a candidate. 

These acts are collectively grave threats to our democracy. With the highest irony in order to hide these acts, the Party accused the opposition candidate of being the grave threat to democracy. 

The Democratic Party proved itself to be fundamentally undemocratic. It needs a complete reboot. The leadership should be thrown out and those responsible should apologize to the American people. 

Honest Abe said it best:

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.

"Thought of a Trump presidency is eating me alive" :::::: Frustration looms large ... in 'Democrat' camp in US and Left-Liberal-Muslim appeasement clubs elsewhere

Trump claims 'powerful mandate' after Fox News projects he has won US presidency

snap social media 

The people of America gave @realDonaldTrump  a crystal clear mandate for change tonight 

- Elon Musk 

 The thought of a Trump presidency is eating me alive

-  Francine Prose. He further writes - 

"I look the way people do outside the intensive care unit, as they wait to learn whether a friend will survive. Our friend, in this case, is democracy". 

When Rahul Gandhi type electoral strategy is drawn,,, u have this !!

"Donald Trump’s presidential victory seems more certain by the minute, I feel sick to my stomach with worry. I hoped to go to sleep on election night knowing Harris had won, and that we were safe. But that is not what was in store for us," he says. 

Donald Trump declares victory in the US election as he addresses jubilant supporters in Florida

"America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," he says to cheering crowds. The Republican has picked up the battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, leaving Kamala Harris with only a narrow path to victory

Just before Trump began speaking, Fox News projected that he had won the election;  

abki baar .... Trump Sarkar

yeh trump nahi Modi ka dost hae ..... American Jat Sardar hae 

A return to the White House would be an extraordinary comeback for Trump after he lost to Joe Biden in 2020; Harris is yet to speak

Meanwhile, Republicans are projected to take back the Senate  

Frustration finds voice ... logic and helpless defence of an idea -- that was so impractical.  

"And what if the dictator loses his mind – along with the nuclear code? What if the dictator surrounds himself with power-hungry sociopaths, as so many dictators have? What if the dictator decides that the sick and old, the infirm and poor are a drain on the economy?

These are snowflake fears, I know, but buttressed by sturdy historical facts. 

The most eloquent account of the prelude to a dictatorship was written by Gabriel García Márquez, in an essay, Death of a President: The Last Days of Salvador Allende, published in Harper’s, in 1974." - The Guardian (penned by Francine Prose

And for American voters who cared more about the economy than other issues - and the nearly half who said they are worse off financially than four years ago - their choice for the next president appeared resoundingly clear: Republican Donald Trump.  

The results dovetail with surveys that have shown consumers giving the economy poor ratings even though unemployment is near historic lows, growth overall has been largely above trend, consumer spending remains robust, and overall household wealth is at a record high.

Focus Mizoram ::: What's FMR issue .... ::::: What's Amit Shah's border sealing impact ? ::: Why Mizoram's Excise Minister says the state has seen a marked increase in drug smuggling ?

In March 2024 --- Mizoram's Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar said the state has seen a marked increase in drug smuggling. 

He had also said that -- a total of 1,211 people have been arrested in drug-related cases since between January and March 2024.  

“In view of the drug trafficking and drug abuse, Mizoram is now in a precarious condition," he said.

Of course there are wheels within wheels. It is a fact of the matter that various central and state agencies in Mizoram, NGOs, Churches and the people have collectively worked in the past to bring down drug menace.

However, challenges remain and things can be hardly called perfect !

Experts and analysts in Delhi and across the region have their part of the story. 

What is the Socio-Cultural connection vis-a-vis security issues and security forces?

Then also comes an issue that triggers predicament - the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime. 

The Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the India-Myanmar border has been a significant aspect of cross-border relations.

This norms or regime allows residents living within a certain distance of the border to move freely between the two countries. The border stretches approximately 1,643 kilometers, traversing the states of Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km), and Mizoram (510 km).

 

Initially established in 1968, the FMR allowed people to move up to 40 kilometers across the border without a visa. However, this distance was reduced to 16 kilometers in 2010.

In January 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced plans to scrap the FMR entirely, citing security concerns arising from ongoing civil unrest in Myanmar and ethnic conflicts in Manipur. 

This was typically a big announcement and it provoked strong reactions.  

Naga Longwa Aung's home is exactly on borders !! 

On May 16, 2024, the Zo Reunification Organisation (ZoRO), which seeks reunification of all tribal communities scattered in four north-eastern Indian states and neighboring Bangladesh and Myanmar, asked Govt of India to abandon the move to fence the border.

"If India ditches the FMR, the youths will have no other alternative but to take up arms again,” said ZoRO general secretary Ramdinliana Renthlei at a rally in Zokhawthar in Mizoram.

This MHA decision entails that residents will now require papers to cross the border, fundamentally altering the long-standing arrangement.

Nagas too are displeased. 

However, officials claim Mizoram has been a focal point for "smuggling" particularly drugs and arms. 

While Manipur has supported the scrapping of the FMR due to security concerns, both Mizoram and Nagaland have opposed this move. 

Leaders from these states argue that ending the FMR would sever crucial ethnic and cultural ties.  

While 1,472 km of the border has been demarcated, only limited stretches have been fenced. The government now plans to build fencing using advanced Hybrid Surveillance Systems (HSS), with two pilot projects covering 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. 

The Ministry of Home Affairs is also set to initiate fencing along approximately 300 kilometers of this border as part of a broader strategy to enhance security. 

Now it goes without stating and it is imperative for all stakeholders—including state governments, local communities, and national authorities—to engage in dialogue aimed at finding pragmatic solutions. 

Balancing security needs with the cultural and social realities of border communities is essential.  

The other part of the stories are more often ignored. One is the 'insurgency threats' from groups like a splinter United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) faction. 

In addition to local resistance, Myanmar’s internal instability has further complicated enforcement of the FMR. 

The military coup in Myanmar in 2021 has diverted the country's focus from managing the border effectively, leaving India with additional security responsibilities.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has blamed the issues in Myanmar "for contributing" to tensions between the Kukis and the Meiteis in his state. 

Over 30,000 Myanmar nationals are reportedly staying in Mizoram since 2021.

In Manipur, the Manipur state government claimed to have detected over 5,457 “illegal immigrants” from Myanmar.

India’s northeast region, divided into eight states, shares borders with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and China. 

It has witnessed several armed conflicts in north east since the former British colony’s independence in 1947.

ends